Trauma Therapy
We provide specialist trauma counselling for adults 18+, with a special focus on women.
What is Trauma?
“Trauma can be defined as any event or series of events that is extremely upsetting and overwhelms an individual’s resources to cope”.
Trauma can be a single one-off event, a series of events or can be ongoing throughout an entire childhood or entire life. Unresolved trauma leaves a lasting impression on the mind and the body with symptoms that continue to intrude into everyday life long after the trauma has ended.
Some of the common symptoms include:
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Overwhelm
Intrusive memories/Flashbacks
Easily triggered
Rigidness
Anger, shame & fear
Obsessive behaviour or thoughts
Addictions
Impulsivity
Auto Pilot
Unavailable/Shut down/Zoned out
Memory loss
Feeling disconnected from your body or from reality
Numb – separation from feelings and emotions
Chronic pain
My Approach
EMDR
(Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing)
EMDR is an evidence-based gold-standard treatment for trauma that allows people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that follow disturbing life experiences.
EMDR is an 8-phase (see video for detailed information of the 8 phases) treatment that has the client focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bi-lateral stimulation (often eye movements), which provides a desensitising effect not only on the image but the emotion, thoughts, beliefs and body sensations that are associated with the experience.
While EMDR was initially used for those with PTSD, it is an effective treatment for a broader population, such as those experiencing Complex PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Phobias, Addictions, Core Belief patterns, and many other distressing experiences.
What is EMDR?
Is EMDR for you –
The eight phases of treatment?
Other techniques used:
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT – aka Tapping) is an energy psychology technique that involves tapping on acupressure points while focusing on a particular emotion, stress, unresolved issue or event. Tapping regulates the nervous system by sending a calming signal to the Amygdala, the home of the fight/flight response, while simultaneously verbalising the issue. It is the combination of these two factors which helps your mind understand that you are not in any physical danger and that it is safe to relax, reducing cortisol levels and bringing balance back into the nervous system.
EFT is also a very practical self-help tool, so after it has been taught, you are able to use it over and over again to regulate your nervous system, reduce stress and bring your body back into balance.
Matrix Re-Imprinting
Matrix Re-Imprinting is a deeply transforming experience that provides an opportunity to trace an emotion, belief or pattern back to its origins, releasing it from the mind and body where it has been frozen in time (please note this is not hypnosis or regression therapy).
In Matrix, problem/trauma memories are seen as fragmented, frozen parts of self that have become stuck and remain unprocessed. The process allows you to go into a past memory as your adult self, helping that younger you in a myriad of ways. For example, you can say or do what you wish you had said or done, provide resources to your younger self to transform the memory/picture, free stuck energy in the past, and release stress and trauma in the body. The result: a change in how you relate to situations and events now and in the future.
Matrix Re-Imprinting combines several evidence-based techniques; these include EFT, Gestalt Therapy, Somatic Interventions, Inner Child work, Memory Reconciliation and Imagery Rescripting.
Office info
In-person Sessions
Providing you with a safe space to relax
All face-to-face appointments will take place in our calm office environment with fully private rooms, conveniently located within At Ease Psychology at Daisy Hill, Brisbane. Face to Face appointments are available Monday, Thursday & Friday.
Online Sessions
Telehealth video link sessions are also available for your convenience. Online sessions provide the same level of support and confidentiality as face-to-face appointments, with flexibility for those who find regular appointments difficult to attend. Telehealth appointments are available Monday, Thursday & Friday.
Fees
Sessions are 50 mins and are $135.
90-minute sessions are available during the processing phase of treatment; these sessions are $220.
Please note that these services are not rebated by Medicare.
Benefits include - no need for a mental health care plan, no diagnosis recorded on your permanent health record, increased flexibility of therapeutic modalities, so we find what works for you, fees are inline or less than typical gap fees, no wait lists, and appointments are available now.
Health Fund Rebates
Rebates may be available to those with the following health funds:
BUPA, Doctors Health Fund, GU Health, CUA Health (Telehealth only), Police Health, Emergency Services Health, Phoenix Health Fund, St Lukes Health and GMHBA.
Hours
Monday 12pm – 6pm (Daisy Hill)
Tuesday (Online only, pls call)
Wednesday (Online only, pls call)
Thursday 8am – 5pm (Daisy Hill)
Friday 8am – 5pm (Daisy Hill)
Charmaine Dunn Counselling welcomes NDIS participants by providing therapeutic support to plan-managed and self-managed individuals. Charmaine will work with you to overcome barriers that are preventing you from achieving your goals. Counselling can assist you to enhance daily living, increase well-being, improve mental health, increase community involvement and build interpersonal skills.